Is Vanderbilt This Year's Cinderella Story? Don't Go Slipper Shopping Yet

Thursday night was a monumental night in Nashville, TN for the Vanderbilt Commodores.  They defeated No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 to score their first home win over a ranked opponent since they upended No. 25 Mississippi State in 1992.

With their 2-0 start, the Commodores are looking for their first winning season since 1982, a streak that is the longest in the BCS.

While this win is impressive because of the time it took to achieve it, there are plenty of black clouds looming overhead for anyone who is getting too high, too soon on this Cinderella story.

The Commodores managed only 225 yards against the South Carolina defense while giving up 325.  They only passed for 90 yards in the win, and at times their offense looked like it was absolutely going nowhere.

They also may have been the lucky beneficiaries of a little thing the college football experts like to call "being overlooked."

After losing to Vanderbilt last season, the Gamecocks seemed to shrug it off as a fluke loss.  So what did they do?  They went out and did the exact same thing this year.

For those of you who would argue that they were a ranked team and that Vandy was the better team on the field today, consider this: Yes, the Gamecocks were lackluster in their victory last week over North Carolina State.  Yes, they had four turnovers.  Yes, their offense looked far too weak against a clearly inferior team.

All of these things were warning signs that the gang from Columbia was ripe for a fall—and fall they did.

Now, this isn't to discount Vanderbilt's effort in this game.  They scrapped, fought, and bled to beat the Gamecocks, and that shows the grit and determination that 25 straight losing seasons can bring.

Before everyone starts crowning Vandy as this year's Illinois, however, there is one thing standing in their way—and it will prove an insurmountable obstacle.

Their schedule.

As the lucky members of the SEC East that they are, Vandy gets the pleasure of facing Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee every year.  This season they also get to play Wake Forest, Auburn, and Mississippi State.  Oh, and they get to travel to Lexington to face a Kentucky squad that dismantled Louisville last week.

Without further ado, here is my take on what the rest of their season holds.

vs. Rice: Win (3-0)

at Mississippi: Loss (3-1)

vs. Auburn: Loss (3-2)

at Mississippi State: Loss (3-3)

at Georgia: Loss (3-4)

vs. Duke: Win (4-4)

vs. Florida: Loss (4-5)

at Kentucky: Loss (4-6)

vs. Tennessee: Loss (4-7)

at Wake Forest: Loss (4-8)

On the Commodores' side in this schedule is the fact that they get to play Florida, Auburn, and Tennessee at home.  They also get to play Duke (always a bonus on the gridiron).

I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up winning at least two of those four games (if Tennessee's lackluster performance against UCLA is any indication, they could be ripe for an upset), and if they beat Florida or Auburn, they could be serious contenders for a bowl spot.

If tonight's game is any indication, this season will be an improvement—but still not quite up to Cinderella level just yet.